Tulane women's basketball Coach Lisa Stockton's team isn't playing in the Final Four on Sunday and Tuesday, but she sat down with sports reporter Rachel Whittaker to offer her insight on the match-ups. With New Orleans hosting the three games, Stockton said fans will be in for some intriguing play from all four teams.

"For us hosting this in the city, I’m excited about just how competitive these games could be," Stockton said. "That’s really what you want when you want to add some excitement to the tournament.”

Here is Stockton's breakdown of Sunday's first national semifinal game at the New Orleans Arena:

Game 1: No. 2 California vs. No. 5 Louisville, Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

On California: “People look at Cal as being this surprise team, the darkhorse. They are 32-3 and did tie for the Pac-12 championship, so they’ve had a tremendous season. I’m so happy for (athletic director) Sandy Barbour that her team got here. It’s a great way to come back to New Orleans for her. She hired a younger coach named Lindsay Gottlieb. She’s done a great job taking this team from being competitive to the Final Four; that’s a huge jump in a short amount of time. I give her a ton of credit on that. I think they’ll be ready to play and it’ll be a tremendous

California coach Lindsay Gottlieb is hugged after her team beat Georgia in overtime, 65-62, to advance to the Women's Final Four in New Orleans.The Associated Press

game."

Why the Bears could win: "From them, you’ll see a guard in (Layshia) Clarendon who’s fast and can score as a complete player. A lot of things run through her. What they do really well is rebound. They’re very athletic; they’re gonna press and try to create turnovers. Even when they’re not making shots, they have such an ability to rebound, that gives them extra possessions. Their rebounding is gonna be key for them to win this game against Louisville."

On Louisville: “Obviously (junior guard) Shoni Schimmel has played tremendous through the NCAA tournament. She’s played loose and been a high-risk, high-reward player and it’s worked for her; take your (3-pointers) off the break and be up by a couple points and take your 3, things like that. That’s why they beat Baylor; their 3-point shooting has been very good in the regional. Their win against Baylor may be one of the most significant wins in tournament history; Baylor was such a favorite. Scoring-wise, (Louisville) is also gonna play fast."

Why the Cardinals could win: "They’re a different team than Cal, but they want to

Louisville coach Jeff Walz greets his players as they run back to the bench during a timeout against Baylor on March 31. Louisville won 82-81.The Associated Press

play uptempo and take quick shots off the break. I think the experience and their winning in the Big East will help them in this match-up. They’re playing with so much confidence now. If Louisville can keep playing with that confidence, that will be Cal's biggest obstacle. Their post player, Sara Hammond, is an exciting player to watch.

“Louisville plays a lot of zone and mixes up their defense a lot. I expect them to challenge Cal on their outside shooting. I’d expect you might see some better defense from Louisville and maybe some zone pressure, and we'll see how Cal can handle that."